Back Where I Belong
by Kayotics
Summary: Ash decides go on a training trip, due to a recent loss at the Indigo Plateau, when Misty enters his life once more, asking for a place to stay. Not wanting to cancel his trip, or leave Misty hanging, Ash takes Misty with him. AshxMisty
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters in this fanfiction, nor am I making any profit off of this. So, Nintendo and Game Freak can just shove their lawyers up their-- Er… Nevermind.

**Author's Note:** Hey, been a while, eh? What's this? You don't know me? Oh, I see, new audience. Well, I am Kyoumi, and I usually write InuYasha fanfictions, but I tired of that and fell into a hiatus in one of my stories; after taking a couple years for a break, I decided to write again, but this time I decided to do it for fun, and not because I felt obligated to. And, I wanted to brush up on my writing skills, since I feel like all my stories are horribly awful (especially those first four). Then there's this whole Pokémon obsession I have lately…

This will be a first for me since I decided to make this story without much of an idea for a plot beforehand. This is also a first in that I'm writing a Pokemon story. So, let's hope it's good, for both of our sakes! xD

For the purposes of this fic, I'm giving the Pokemon genders based on my personal thoughts on that Pokemon. It makes it easier for me to write, and I think it's silly when they're called "it", unless they're genderless.

* * *

_Ash: 15_

_Misty: 15_

_Brock: 20_

**Back Where I Belong**

**Chapter One**

It was a comfortable day in the middle of June, but it almost felt like it was _too_ hot because of the chilly winter and spring that had just passed. A slight breeze could be felt, which made the sun's harsh heat a little more bearable. Everything was peaceful in the town of Pallet.

It was _too_ peaceful, in the mind of a certain boy. He ungracefully laid across the couch, his legs strewn about in odd directions, flipping through TV channels before settling on a re-run of a battle that he had seen before. Not only had it been on TV a thousand times since the Indigo League Finals, but he had been there as well.

"Remember that battle, Pikachu?" the boy asked the yellow electric mouse that relaxed on his stomach.

"Pi…" he agreed, used to being asked that question about that particular match. Pikachu had long given up reminding his friend that they had both _participated_ in that match.

"ASH KETCHUM! Are you still watching TV like a lump?" shouted a woman from the kitchen.

"… No," Ash answered, pressing the red button on the remote and shutting the television off.

His mother walked into the room with an angry look in her eye. "Ash, go outside. You've been stuck in here moping for the past two weeks." She stayed in the doorway to the kitchen, making sure that Ash managed to pull himself out of the couch.

Ash headed out the door and sighed, the mouse Pokemon following loyally. They both sat themselves down on the front steps, not really sure what they were going to do.

He had been _so close._ He had been one win away from winning the League title for that year, and a chance to face the Elite Four. While the prize money for second place was good, it wasn't what he was aiming for.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Pikachu," Ash said disdainfully.

"Pi?" Pikachu said, not really sure what Ash was talking about.

Ash pulled off his cap, running a hand through his black, messy hair in the process. "I've done everything I can to make my Pokemon the best team in the world, but it never seems to be enough. Not only did I fail at Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, but I lost at home TWICE!" shouted Ash, mostly talking to himself instead of Pikachu. "Whatever I do, it just never seems to be enough. My Pokemon are always ready, and strong enough to handle it, but maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a trainer."

Pikachu frowned. "Pikapi, pika ka chu pichu," replied the mouse.

Ash sighed. "Well, I don't feel like a great trainer. I feel like a failure," mused the boy.

The electric mouse got angrier at that admission. "Pika pichu ka chu pikachupi chu kachu."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Pi."

Ash ruefully smiled and scratched the mouse behind the ears, earning an appreciative sigh from the Pokemon.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Ash said to his Pokemon, "I think Mom's right; I need to get out. We should go on a training trip."

"Pikachu!" shouted the tiny Pokemon, pumping his fist in the air.

Ash smirked and led the two of them inside to tell his mother his plans.

- - -

While Delia wasn't _thrilled_ that her son was going on another trip so soon, she was glad that he was getting out of the house. She had been starting to worry that her son was becoming some sort of delinquent or some such nonsense.

Ash wasn't going to leave for a couple days, but he decided that there was no time like the present to start packing for his training trip, even if it wasn't going to be very long.

He had been staring at his clothes for about five minutes as he tried to figure out what to bring when he was snapped out of his revere when the telephone rang. It rang a couple times before his mother picked it up and called for him to come down and answer it.

Ash sighed and went down to the kitchen to see who it was, and was shocked to see who was on the videophone.

"Misty?"

"No, I'm your tax collector," Misty giggled. It had been a long time since the two had talked to each other, even longer since they saw each other, even on the videophone.

"Sorry, I was just surprised. I haven't heard from you in forever!"

"I was going to call sooner, but I decided to wait a bit since your loss at…" Misty trailed off, and looked up to see the hurt expression on Ash's face.

"Yeah," he mumbled, looking away from the screen, not really wanting to see the look of pity that everyone seemed to have for him lately. Of course, that look was better than the look of annoyance that her mother had been looking at him with since he had taken to sitting in front of the TV… "Anyway, what's up?"

"Ah, well… I actually wanted to ask you a favor," Misty said, looking at the floor and scratching the back of her head.

"Shoot."

Misty hesitated.

"What is it?" Ash said sharply. "If you want something, just ask."

Misty glared at Ash, but instead of yelling at him for his impatient attitude, she asked, "Can I come stay with you for a while?"

This took Ash off guard as he nearly toppled out of his chair. "What? Why would you want to stay here?"

"Well, my sisters have been a bit… testy lately."

And if to prove her claim, Violet shouted off in the distance, "Misty! Hurry up and get off the damn phone! I, like, need to use it! NOW!"

Misty sighed. "They've been this way for a while. I think it has something to do with some boyfriend of theirs. I'm not really sure. But whatever it is, they're taking it out on me. I really need to get out of here for a while," explained the girl.

"What about the gym?" Ash asked.

Misty shrugged. "They can take care of it themselves. Maybe they can take their anger out on trainers instead of me," she mused.

"Well, let me ask my mom quick, and then I'll tell you," Ash said as he got out of the chair.

He walked over to his mother and asked said question. Delia turned to him with a grin that threatened to engulf her face. "That would be wonderful! I love having Misty around, and maybe she can get you to go out once in a while. She can stay as long as she likes," she answered.

Ash was a bit taken aback by this answer, but walked back to the videophone as calmly as he left it. "She said it's fine." That was the understatement of the year.

Misty squealed and grinned ear-to-ear. "Thank you so much, Ash! I'll head out tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I'll be there late tomorrow or early the next day."

Before Ash could say anything to her, she quickly whispered, "I gotta go. Sorry, Ash. I'll see you later."

And he was left staring at a black screen.

Pikachu ran over to him and asked him simply, "Pika pikachu chu?"

_The trip! I forgot!_ And with that, Ash slapped his forehead in frustration.

- - -

The next day, Delia had her son working harder than he had in months, cleaning the house and getting things ready for Misty. While she and Mimey (her Mr. Mime) did the housework, Ash was stuck outside doing the yard work in the sweltering heat. While yesterday had been a temperate day, today was one of those rare days that could wilt plants by just being mentioned. And so early in the season!

By noon, Ash was ready to collapse from the heat. Even with his Totodile and Buizel regularly hitting him with a water gun, he didn't know if he would be able to finish mowing the lawn, let alone the rest of the chores that were laid out for him.

When dinner rolled around, Ash could hardly finish his food without falling asleep. He managed to take a quick shower before heading off to bed, not really caring at the moment if Misty showed up this late or not.

He climbed to the top of his bunk bed (that was getting suspiciously small for him) and dozed off as soon as his head hit the pillow.

- - -

Morning came too soon for the poor, overworked boy. He heard the blinds over the window being pulled up and tried to block out the light that brightened the room behind his eyelids. Without seeing who would so rudely wake him, Ash just turned his head away from the light.

Next went his blanket. It was roughly pulled away from him, leaving him shiver in the cool air. Groaning, Ash curled up into a ball and hid his face in his pillow.

But that was gone now, too, and Ash found himself falling into his mattress. There was no falling asleep now. He turned towards the thief and shouted, "WHAT THE FU—"

He stopped as he saw who it was. Smirking at him was a familiar scrawny redhead… except she wasn't so scrawny anymore. Ash was dumbfounded. Misty didn't look the same at all. The two years since they saw each other last had done wonders for the girl. She was taller and her hair was a little longer, while her ever short t-shirt and Capri's didn't do much to hide her figure. While these things were all very different, the one thing that was the same was her bright blue-green eyes. Ash found himself blushing, but couldn't really figure out why.

_Maybe _it was because all he was wearing was his boxers right now.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked after he figured out how to form sentences again.

"Did you forget that I was coming?" She had answered his question with another question.

He could honestly say that he hadn't really believed that she was coming to live with him, but that was proven wrong. Besides, she would probably get pissed off.

"I meant, why are you in my room?"

Misty looked a little angry with this and coolly responded with, "It's almost one thirty. I've been here since eight waiting for you to wake up."

Ash quickly did the math in his head. He had gone to bed a little after dinner, which was about seven, so he had been sleeping for… EIGHTEEN HOURS?! Ash looked panicked. "Mew, how could I sleep for that long?" Ash asked himself. Misty gave him a puzzled look as he slapped his forehead. He noticed this and nervously explained, "I, uh, actually went to bed at about seven…"

"This morning?" Misty asked, shocked. The thought, _he stayed up to wait for you_, ran through her head a couple times.

"No, last night." Ash looked embarrassed and hung his head so she wouldn't notice his blush.

The redhead's brow ticked in annoyance. Muttering a simple "Oh," she walked out of his room and slammed the door, rattling a couple picture frames and some less stable furniture.

Ash stared at the door for a couple seconds before thinking, _what's her problem?_

- - -

After getting his breakfast (or lunch if you want to get technical), Ash went outside to find Misty playing with Pikachu in the yard and his mother watering her tomato plants. A mischievous grin formed on Ash's face as he walked over to his mother and asked if he could borrow the hose.

She looked at him quizzically, but simply said, "Make it quick," before handing the hose over to him.

Ash snuck up behind Misty as she crouched on the ground, petting Pikachu. Pikachu noticed him coming, and cocked his head to the side at him.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Misty asked as she turned around. She gasped as she was met with a face full of water.

Ash couldn't contain himself. After shouting out, "That was for this morning!" he busted out laughing at Misty's expression of pure annoyance. He, of course, failed to notice her stand up and grab for the hose before it was too late. As soon as Ash realized what was happening, Misty had pulled open the back of his shirt and stuck the hose down his back.

The boy gave out a cry of shock as he tried to pull the hose out from his shirt, which took a good minute and a half. Once he accomplished this, he ran after Misty, trying to soak her from head to toe.

Their fun went on for a half hour until they both collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles.

Wiping away some of his soaked hair, Ash breathlessly said, "I'm glad to have you back, Misty."

Misty turned her head towards Ash as he looked up at the sky, a content smile on his face. "I'm glad, too."

The two hardly noticed the footsteps approaching them, but they both jumped from the sudden shock of ice-cold hose water sprayed on their faces. After wiping their eyes, they looked up to see a slightly annoyed Delia Ketchum.

"A half hour is not '_quick_'," she said before going back to her plants and finishing with the watering.

The two were silent for a moment before Ash collapsed back on the ground, laughing until tears rolled down his cheeks. Misty didn't find it _nearly_ as funny, but she hadn't been moping for two weeks straight.

After a while, the two had fallen asleep on the grass, trying to dry their clothes in the sun.

**Chapter End**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, there's chapter one. I actually have an idea of what to do for a couple chapters, but after that I'm not really sure of what to do. I guess if I still need help by then, I'll ask for it.

The speech Pikachu gave to Ash in the beginning translates to, "Most trainers don't make it to your level/expertise in their lifetime."


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: ** Still a vague idea of where I'm going, but I have a little bit planned out. How much is a little bit? Probably this chapter and part of the next. XD That's it.

* * *

_Ash: 15_

_Misty: 15_

_Brock: 20_

**Back Where I Belong**

**Chapter Two**

Dinner that night was simple, yet good. Ash was pretty surprised that his mom didn't go all-out since Misty was visiting, but he didn't question it. He would happily eat anything that his mother made for him.

In the middle of dinner, Ash decided to bring up the topic of his training trip with Misty.

"Misty, before you came, I was planning on going on a training trip," he started.

She looked at him with a hostile gleam in her eyes and said, "So you were just going to leave me here?"

Ash jumped at her tone, but continued, "No, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. I usually go to a spot a bit west of here."

Misty looked almost surprised at his suggestion. "You want me to come with you?" Ash nodded and she smiled. "Well, alright. I guess my Pokemon could use some exercise."

He smirked and said, "This will be more than just some 'exercise'. This is gonna be some intense training going on."

Misty leaned back and declared, "We can take it. I'm not one of the Cerulean Gym leaders for nothing."

"Good, because you'll need all the strength you can get."

- - -

The next morning the two (plus Pikachu on Ash's shoulder) set out for the mountains in the west, making their way out of town within a few minutes. Ash trekked out in front, making the pathway clear for Misty. There was no definite path leading them, but Ash knew the way well enough to escort them.

"So, Ash, how did you find this place?" Misty asked, wondering if her companion had learned to read a map after all these years.

He blushed and kept his head forward while saying, "I actually was trying to find a place a good ways north of my destination."

Misty gave him a deadpan look, even though he couldn't see it. "Figures. I bet you had a map and everything, didn't you?"

Ash gave the tiniest of nods, but Misty saw it and sighed, wondering if Ash would ever do anything right. Not that she wanted him to. That was part of his charm.

"So, how can you be sure that this is the right way to get to your training spot?" questioned Misty, hoping that they weren't going to end up in some sort of predicament that would cause for alarm.

Ash gave a confident smirk and replied, "I've been there enough times to know the way. It's hard to get to, but it's worth it."

They fell into a comfortable silence, pushing their way through the dense foliage. Soon the trees started to thin as they started to climb up the mountainside. It wasn't terribly steep yet, but it still wore on the two trainers enough for them to warrant a rest after a few minutes of this.

After regaining their strength, they set out once more. The incline steepened ever so slightly as they made their way up, and by the time it was noon, they were on their hands and knees to climb the mountainside.

"Ash, are you sure this is the way?" Misty asked, getting worried about the direction they were taking. While the mountainside wasn't even close to being a vertical wall, falling would still be painful. And thoughts of rockslides wouldn't leave Misty's head.

Ash nodded to confirm that they were going the right direction, and while his face was determined, he was showing signs of weakening. Pikachu had gone up ahead to test the strength of each of the rocks they used as support, and popped his head out from behind a rock.

"Pikapi! Pikachu pi!" shouted the Pokemon, and Ash's face instantly brightened.

"We made it, Misty!" Ash exclaimed as he scurried across the rocks.

"Wait, Ash! I can't climb that fast!" Misty cried, trying to keep up. The two had disappeared around the side of the mountain now. Misty's distress rose, but so did her anger.

She popped her head around the sharp edge of the mountain and was about to give Ash a piece of her mind when she found herself staring at one of the most unique and beautiful places that she had ever seen.

While the side of the mountain that they climbed up from was steep and treacherous, this side was smooth, rolling hills. To their right (or in the north direction, since they had been traveling due east) was a continuation of the mountain range, most of them a lot rougher and steeper than the small mountain they found themselves on now. From the peaks of the mountains were forests, thick and untouched by man. Slowly the trees thinned out, and straight ahead were rolling plains covered with wildflowers, with a winding river cutting through it and making it's way to the sea. Misty found herself standing on a rock platform that could probably fit two full-grown Snorlaxes and a Gyarados comfortably. It was a steep drop-off straight ahead (to the east), towards the ocean, but there was an incline along the edge of the mountains that gracefully sloped through the forest and down into the plains, acting as a natural staircase.

Ash looked over to Misty's gaping face and laughed. "You like it?" he asked, receiving a quick nod in response.

"Ash… This is beautiful. This has to be the best mistake you've ever come across," she mused, still taking in the landscape.

He gave her a cynical glare, and muttered, "Thanks."

It was obvious that Ash had used this spot as a camp before, since there was a fire ring in the center of the outcropping with some old charcoal lying in the middle. The two started to set out their sleeping bags near the fire pit. Before long, the two decided it would be a good idea to gather some firewood before night fell.

Calling on some of their Pokemon (Ash's Bulbasaur and Totodile, and Misty's Politoad), they went out into the forest to look for firewood and berries for dinner.

That first night was fairly peaceful, Pikachu only had to shock the two trainers once to get them to stop fighting, and the dinner was… edible. Tired after the long journey up the mountain, they went to bed early.

- - -

The sun was high when Brock Harrison strode into Pallet Town, taking in the beautiful weather and the beautiful scenery (which included a few women).

Brock shook his head to clear his thoughts. He wasn't here for a date! Sometimes he had to remind himself to stay on task. All Brock was doing was visiting one of his best friends. He had actually been meaning to for a week or so; ever since Ash's second attempt at the Indigo Plateau the poor boy had been moping around. Unfortunately, taking care of a few things at home had kept Brock from visiting Pallet Town sooner.

He walked the familiar path to Ash's house and made his way to the front door. He rapped on the wood a couple times before hearing some scuffling inside and the handle turning. What faced him was the all-too-familiar face of Mimey. Brock twitched. Mimey creeped him out.

Delia came into the room from the kitchen and brightened on seeing Brock. "Brock! Come in!" she exclaimed while ushering the young adult into the room.

"Hello, I've come to visit Ash," Brock explained, even though there were few other reasons that Brock would visit at all.

"He actually left on a training trip this morning," Delia said, ever cheerful. "It's a shame you had to miss him, though. I'm sure that it would have been just like old times if you had gone, too!"

Brock was a little disheartened, and confused. "Old times?" he asked, wondering what she could mean by saying that.

Deliah smiled even more before saying, "Misty went with him. She is going to be staying with us for a while."

Brock could hardly believe his ears. Misty? _That_ was unexpected. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried.

"You can stay here until Ash and Misty come back from their trip," Delia offered, moving aside so he could come in the house.

"Ah, that's very kind of you, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock said appreciatively. "I would love to stay here for a while."

The squinty-eyed lad walked into the house and shut the door behind him, feeling right at home as he offered to help with dinner.

- - -

The morning sun gently woke Misty from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered as she sat up and looked around camp, noting Ash's rolled up sleeping bag and a few berries laid out for her breakfast.

_He's up already?_ she asked herself, trying to fathom Ash getting up early for anything, especially considering how he had been sleeping for so long when Misty finally woke him up on the day of her arrival. She quickly ate the berries that had been left out for her and decided to look around for Ash.

She didn't have to look too long, because off in the distance, past the rolling plains and over on the ocean shore, a certain boy and his Pokemon stood doing morning exercises. They were simple stretching exercises, but all of them did them with intense vigor.

Misty pulled out her Pokeballs and released the Pokemon inside. Out came a gleeful Politoad, a fierce Corsola, an ever-happy Maril (evolved from her Azuril not too long ago), a clueless Psyduck, and a frightening Gyarados. "I'll race you to the ocean!" Misty shouted, taking a head start down the slope leading through the forest and to the plains.

Gyarados easily passed by all the other Pokemon by sheer size alone, but Politoad, Corsola, and Maril all had a tough time beating each other out, not to mention their trainer. Psyduck trailed behind, his short legs causing him to trip more than once and be much slower than all the others.

Misty was worn out by the time she reached the beach; it was a _long_ way to run. Ash smirked as she rested her hands on her knees, trying to keep herself from lying down on the sand.

"So, you finally woke up, huh?" Ash ridiculed, amused to be the first to awaken for once.

Misty glared daggers at the boy and he inched back, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Misty asked breathlessly, still exhausted from her run.

Ash shrugged. "It looked like you needed the sleep. You seemed pretty tired from our hike here, yesterday… And you probably woulda beat me to a pulp if I woke you up…" Ash added as an afterthought.

Misty tried to regain her temper. How could someone be so caring and so thoughtless at the same time?

Not wanting to start another fight (and not wanting to get shocked by Pikachu again), Misty ignored the bait and asked, "So, what were you doing down here?"

Ash grinned, his face brightening at the thought. "We were all just warming up for training," he said, gesturing to his team.

Beside him were Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Septile, Totodile, Buizel, and Chimchar. Misty crouched in front of Buizel and Chimchar, looking at them carefully. "I don't think I've met these two before," she said simply before taking a closer look at Buizel. "Hey, is this one a water type?"

Misty's excited face quickly looked to Ash, who just nodded in confirmation. "That's Buizel. He's a great fighter and really powerful. He should probably evolve into a Floatzel pretty soon…" Ash explained, tapping his chin as he finished.

"Where did you get him?" Misty asked, petting the Pokemon's silky orange fur. Buizel looked a little annoyed at first, but slowly warmed to the touch.

"In Sinnoh. I actually traded for him with Dawn for Aipom," Ash said. Misty looked shocked at this. Ash _never_ traded his Pokemon. Not since the S.S. Anne when he traded Butterfree for a Ratticate. Ash noticed the look on her face and explained further, "Dawn is a coordinator and Aipom liked to participate in Contests. Buizel liked battling better, so it was bound to happen eventually."

Misty raised an eyebrow but seemed to accept the explanation.

"So," she started as she stood up, "what are we going to do first?"

Ash grinned. Misty wasn't sure she liked the look in his eye as he did that. It was almost… _mischievous. _

- - -

Misty groaned as she placed her load on the ground. Her back ached and her shoulders were starting to go numb.

Ash had them all carry buckets of water from the stream up the mountainside to the camp, and then pour them out and go get more. They were supposed to carry as many buckets as they could hold, and as much water as they could lift. She watched as Pikachu walked by with one over-full bucket on top of his head. Once in a while the small rodent would lose his balance and slosh some of the water out onto the ground before making it's way back up to the camp. In fact, this happened so frequently that Misty was starting to wonder if Pikachu was just faking it to get a lighter load.

She watched as a few of her Pokemon passed by her. There had also been a strict "no using water gun" rule put into place when her young Maril had tried to make herself appear stronger than she was by filling it up right before making it to the top. It backfired, though, when Maril nearly fell off the cliff from a lack of balance and the weight of the bucket. Then, Totodile, after dropping his bucket, had decided he was going to fill it up where he stood and continue on like nothing happened. Ash thought of this as cheating.

"Are you resting already?" Misty nearly jumped out of her skin as Ash came up behind her. He was barely sweating! And both of his buckets were nearly full! Misty silently fumed.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not nearly as strong as you, _Mr. Pokemon Master,_" Misty spat. And, just to spite him, she grabbed for her buckets and lifted them up roughly, anger fueling her movements.

Unfortunately for her, her hasty movements caused her to lose her balance. She dropped her buckets and waved her arms to try to right herself, but to no avail. She fell down, landing hard on her back. Ash tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"What's so funny?" Misty shouted, knowing the answer perfectly well.

Ash had to set down his buckets as he continued to laugh at her, finding her clumsiness hilarious for some reason.

"Oh, shut UP!" Misty shouted, throwing her now empty bucket at Ash's head. He stopped laughing and clutched his forehead in pain.

Still smirking, he looked up at her with a tear in the corner of his eye. From the pain or from laughter, she wasn't sure what he was crying for. Probably the latter, but she hoped it was from the pain. Ash chuckled lightly before saying, "I probably deserved that, but you would have done the same thing if I had been the one to fall."

Misty growled and retorted with, "I would have helped you up, _then_ laughed. You just stood there."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Mist," Ash apologized, holding out her hand for her to get up.

She slapped his hand away angrily and shouted, "It's too late, now, idiot!"

Ash glared. "At least I was trying to make up for it! Why not just accept that I'm sorry and be done with it?"

Misty had stood up by now. "Maybe because I don't want to accept your apology! I don't think you're actually sorry at all!"

"How do you know? I AM sorry about it!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!"

The pair fell on to the ground in a smoking, and slightly static-y, heap. Nearby stood an exasperated Pikachu with his red cheeks pulsing with electricity, turning to pick up his now empty bucket and head down to the stream to fill it up.

"How does he always appear whenever we fight?" Misty asked, mostly to herself.

"I want to know why he decided to start shocking me again. He almost never shocked me on purpose when I went through Hoenn and Sinnoh," Ash mused, standing up and brushing himself off. His hair looked even messier than normal at the moment.

Ash picked up one of his nearly full buckets and went to start the climb to the campsite when he stopped and turned to look at Misty. She looked _beat_. Not only had carrying the water taken it's toll on her, but then she had to suffer the wrath of Pikachu. Sure, Ash suffered the same fate, but he was at least somewhat used to it; Misty hadn't been around Pikachu in years.

Once Misty had both her buckets and started to head back to the stream, Ash cleared his throat. She turned to look at him, confused as to why he would want her attention.

"Put your buckets down for a sec," Ash commanded, and she did so, biting off a quick remark before it could make it out her mouth.

The boy walked over to her buckets and poured half the water from each of his buckets into her own.

"There!" he said, standing back and grinning. "Now you can go to the camp and it won't be a wasted trip!"

Misty looked distraught. She wasn't sure if this was an offer to help or an insult!

But she didn't have the chance to ask as Ash started to walk away with his own buckets. She followed, gradually catching up to the boy and matching his pace.

And she walked with him for the rest of the day.

- - -

Once they finished dinner, Ash dug through his backpack and pulled out a pair of swim trunks and a towel. Misty watched him quizzically; though it was still light out, dusk would come soon and it wasn't the best time for a peaceful swim.

"What are you doing, Ash?" Misty asked the teen as he started to head off to the path that lead through the forest and down to the plains.

"I'm gonna take a bath," Ash replied simply, almost like it was one of the most obvious things in the world.

"In the ocean?" She looked over at the waves crashing on the shore. That would be a painful bath. And salty. And then there was all the seaweed…

Ash laughed a little and explained, "There's a hot spring in the forest a ways. You can come with if you like."

"A hot spring?" Misty practically shouted. "Why didn't you say this before?" And almost immediately she had her swimsuit and towels ready, along with all of her Pokeballs.

Ash and Pikachu lead the way as Misty followed close behind. About half way into the forest, Ash walked off the path and followed a slightly worn trail through the trees.

The trees started to get thicker as they went on, where it was almost as if they formed a wall of sorts. But just as the trees seemed to get too close together, they quickly thinned out. The ground here was rocky and had few plants, while the air was thick and steamy.

"Here we are!" Ash announced, running off behind a couple rocks to change. As soon as he was in his swim trunks, Ash barreled towards the water and jumped in, splashing hot water all over the place. As he surfaced, he looked towards Misty, who looked a bit peeved… and wet.

"Oops."

Misty simply turned and left him for a couple minutes. When she came back, she was wearing her swimsuit and calmly got into the water. Ash backed up a little as she approached him, still ever-so calm.

She was next to him now. Ash gulped.

Then Misty's anger came out full force. She grabbed the back of his head and roughly shoved it under the water for a couple seconds before letting him come back up for air, coughing and sputtering all the way.

Pikachu sighed and left the two as they started a splash fight, deciding that he might as well get the other Pokemon out since their trainers were a bit pre-occupied at the moment.

Ash and Misty had calmed down a bit by the time that Pikachu and the rest of the Pokemon made their way back to the hot spring, and they all (besides Gyarados) gladly went into the water to soothe their aching muscles.

After a while, sky above them had become a light violet color; while they couldn't see the sun through the trees, it was obvious that it had almost set. The stars were barely visible in the darkening sky.

Misty watched the sky for a few moments before deciding that they should probably start heading back. She stood up, shivering a little in the cooling air, and got out of the spring to towel off.

After returning her Pokemon to their Pokeballs, she called over to Ash, "We should probably get going before it gets to dark."

She started to dry her hair, waiting for an answer, but it never came. She heard Pikachu say something to Ash, but once again he stayed silent.

Misty turned towards her silent friend and pulled the towel off of her head, while shouting out, "For Mew's sake, Ash! Answer me when I—"

Misty almost fell over in disbelief. Ash had fallen asleep in the hot spring! She groaned and recalled his Pokemon for him. Now all that was left was waking him up, and that was a challenge in itself.

"How are we going to go about waking him up?" Misty asked Pikachu.

Pikachu's cheeks started to spark with electricity.

"Woah, woah! We can't do that, Pikachu! Water conducts electricity, remember?"

Pikachu blushed a little and stopped charging up his attack.

"Ash," Misty said, shoving the boy's shoulder a little. "Hey, get up."

He let out a soft snore.

"UGH! We're getting nowhere!" Misty said as she took out a Pokeball. She released the Pokemon inside and commanded, "Maril, Water Gun."

The young Pokemon obeyed and gave Ash a face full of water, waking him up almost instantly.

"What's going on?" Ash coughed out, shaking his head to rid himself of excess water. He glanced over to Misty who looked at him with a bored expression.

"You fell asleep in the hot spring. Hurry up and get ready to go back. The sun is almost set," Misty explained impassively.

Misty and Pikachu waited for Ash to finish getting ready, and once he was done they made their way back to camp.

By the time arrived at the camp, the fire had nearly died out. Misty set up the sleeping bags as Ash got a little more firewood to feed the dwindling embers. Pikachu was already laying peacefully in Ash's sleeping bag by the time that Ash came back with more firewood, and Misty was off changing into pajamas behind a rock.

When Misty came back, she noticed that the fire was starting to grow a little bigger again, but Ash wasn't anywhere near his sleeping bag. She looked around and spotted him facing the ocean. Towards the ocean, the outcropping that they had camped on quickly gave way to jagged rocks and cliffs; Ash was sitting on the edge of the outcropping right before it fell into a steep rock wall.

Misty walked over to Ash, her bare feet slapping against the cold ground. Ash didn't seem to notice as Misty walked up behind him or when she took a seat to his right. It was colder over here, as the heat of the fire didn't reach where they were sitting.

Ash's face was so serious, Misty wasn't sure if she had ever seen him thinking so hard. She followed his gaze to see what he was looking at, but all she could really see were some stars and a crescent moon.

"Ash?"

He visibly jumped out of his revere. Ash hadn't even seen Misty before she said something. He let out a shaky sigh, resting a hand on his chest to calm his nerves and get over the shock.

Misty giggled, swinging her legs softly over the edge of the rock.

"What were you thinking?" the young water trainer asked, glancing over to Ash's blushing face before looking back at the stars.

Ash's brow furrowed. "Nothing," he whispered, glaring at the sky.

The anger in Ash's voice was obvious. "It is _not_ nothing. You're upset about something." Misty leaned forward a little to get a better look at Ash's face. She nearly gasped. His eyes were different. It was almost as if… Had he lost his confidence? The fire in his eyes that she remembered so well, it was gone now.

He sighed. "It's just… Nevermind."

Misty rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to get any info this way. Maybe if she took a different approach she'd get some answers.

"Well, if you need to talk about it, I'll be willing to listen," said Misty as she looked away from Ash's face once more. He nodded in response.

"I need to tell you something, though," Misty started. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply before continuing. "I wanted to apologize…" Misty paused, but before Ash could question her, she continued with, "I want to apologize for not coming to the finals at the Indigo Plateau. I know how important it was to you, and I wasn't there. I really wanted to be there, but I just…"

Ash made a short grunt in understanding. "I know. You were busy with the Gym. I suppose with your sisters, it would be really hard to make it."

_That's not it. I was scared to see you again after so long…_ Misty thought before continuing on with her explanation, ignoring the fact that she was with him now. "I knew that your other friends would be there, so I didn't really think that I would offer much for support," Misty said, having a hard time finishing her sentences. Speaking her feelings was not one of her strong points. Even if she trusted Ash person more than anyone else she knew.

Ash looked at her incredulously, why would she say such a thing? "That was stupid of you!" Ash announced, his mouth forming a strange sort of disapproving grimace.

Misty turned abruptly towards him and glared. "What was that?" she shouted, her voice rising a bit higher than what was necessary, especially with Pikachu sleeping a few meters away.

"I said that was stupid of you to think that way," Ash reaffirmed, looking back to the ocean. He couldn't match that glare of hers right now, not when he wasn't feeling the same way. Before she could shout at him once more, Ash continued with, "Brock has always been there for me… well, all of us, really. He's been like a big brother to me, and you, and all my other friends. And when I met May and Max, it was almost like when you traveled with me again, except Max was twice the smart-ass and May had three times the appetite. I guess I was like a teacher to May, like you were a teacher to me sometimes.

"Then I met Dawn in Sinnoh, and I had another good friend to cheer me on. We were always really supportive of each other and she was always really confident in herself and her friends," Ash finished. Misty didn't really see his point. Was he _trying_ to make her feel worse? But before she could ask him this, he said, "But, the problem was, they weren't the same."

Misty looked startled. "'They weren't the same'? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"I missed traveling with _you_, Misty. And all those other people couldn't change that. Sometimes I felt like I was trying to replace you. Especially when you first left," he said quietly. "I missed getting lost with you and Brock, and I missed how you yelled at me for stupid things, and there were the times when I missed how you would fuss over me when I was in danger but would deny it afterwards. I guess I just missed you."

Misty was facing Ash straight on now, lost for words. She would have never believed that Ash would be telling her these things, and just to make sure it wasn't a dream, she pinched her leg. _Ow._ Nope, it was real.

"Ash…" Misty said, her voice thick with emotion. She swallowed it down and started again as Ash turned his gaze towards her. "I missed you too. I love being a Gym Leader, but I love traveling with you and Brock more. And to hear you feel the same way…" Misty sighed, hardly able to go on any more. "Thank you."

Misty's mouth curved into a small, almost sad, smile and she leaned towards Ash a bit. Ash blushed, not really sure as to what he should be doing. He could feel the heat of her body, and he was sure that she could hear his heart pounding. Ash wasn't really sure why he was so nervous all of the sudden.

"Pikapi?"

Ash and Misty, startled, jumped away from each other quickly before Pikachu had a chance to look up and see them sitting at the edge of the rock platform. The mouse trotted over to them and sat between the two, noticing that they both wore identical blushes. What confused the poor Pokemon, though, is why Ash looked confused and nervous, while Misty looked like she was going to die of anger and embarrassment.

Pikachu had gotten worried when he woke up and didn't find Ash there, and the tired mouse pulled on Ash's arm to get the trainer to get back to the sleeping bag. Ash sighed and stood up, picking up his faithful partner in the process.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Ash announced, looking back at Misty. "Try to get to bed soon. Good night."

Once he was out of earshot, Misty gave a loud, depressed sigh. _What a dense moron, _she thought, before realizing that she never figured out why he had been sitting over here in the first place. She groaned and slapped her forehead in frustration.

With another sigh, she got up and went to her sleeping bag, soon falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

So, after looking at the chapter again on FF, I had to agree with **Milotic **and decided that the chapter was a bit short. I was always really bad with that, and after taking a break for a good year or two, I had forgotten how much you have to write to get a good sized chapter.

I also need to get some ideas sorted out for the chapter(s) after this one. This fic shouldn't be too long, but I don't really know what direction it's going in. So, we'll just go with the flow.


	3. Chapter Three

_Ash: 15_

_Misty: 15_

_Brock: 20_

**Back Where I Belong**

**Chapter Three**

By the time day four of their training came, it seemed that all they ever did was eat, train, and sleep. But Misty had noticed that her and her Pokemon were a lot stronger and getting along even better than before. The same could be said about Ash, as well, but even his Pokemon had started to notice the same thing that Misty had. Something was different about him.

Misty smirked as she watched Ash use his slightly unorthodox training methods. Not only did his Pokemon battle each other, but when Ash felt that they needed an extra sort of push, he would go up against his Pokemon himself. It had started to rub off, Misty had noticed. She smirked as she looked at her confused duck Pokemon. After watching Ash help his Bulbasaur perfect the Vine Whip attack by acting as a moving target, Misty got the idea to do a similar method of training with Psyduck.

She stood in a shallow part of the ocean water where it wasn't nearly as rough as one might expect. Psyduck stood on shore, watching his trainer while clutching his head.

"Come on, Psyduck! If you don't come out here, you'll never learn to get stronger!" Misty chided, gesturing for him to waddle his way towards her.

Psyduck slowly dipped the tip of his webbed foot into the ocean water. After a shiver, he jumped back, somehow chilled by the refreshing water. Misty sighed. This was going to be difficult.

Fed up with waiting, Misty quickly strode out of the water, and before Psyduck knew what was going on, she had picked him up. Just as the duck had understood what was happening, he started to struggle, but was already being carried out to where Misty was before.

Gently, she let Psyduck's feet touch the water, where he pulled them up just as soon as he made contact. Soon his tail touched, and Psyduck couldn't pull up any farther. Before he knew it, Psyduck's whole body below his arms was submerged.

The duck thrashed and quacked out his name in an attempt to get Misty to bring him back to shore, but to no avail. She waited until he calmed down before gently releasing him.

He sunk to the bottom.

Misty sighed and picked the duck up from the bottom and walked back to shore. "Well, at least we got you to be calm in the water. That's a start, right?" she asked Psyduck.

"Psy?"

Once she reached the beach, Psyduck jumped out of her arms and ran towards where Ash was training his Pokemon, falling on his bill a few times before actually managing to walk into Ash's leg.

Misty followed her Pokemon, shaking her head to get rid of access water dripping off of her hair.

"Hey Ash! How's it going?" Misty greeted, gaining the attention of the young trainer.

"Buizel use your—" Ash started, pointing towards a rock target, before he turned to see Misty walking towards him.

Ash was at a loss for words. Sure, she had seen Misty in her bathing suit before, but usually she was actually in the water and not… He felt himself blush.

Misty had finally made it to Ash's side and the two of them stood in awkward silence, Ash still holding the same pose he had right before issuing Buizel's attack. They stared at each other for a long moment.

Suddenly, the eye contact was broken as Buizel jumped Ash and water gunned the boy's face, causing him to loose his balance and fall to the ground. As soon as Ash had fallen over, Buizel jumped on to Ash's stomach and glared at him, not happy to be ignored during training.

"Buizel! Cm'on! Get offa me!" With a final push, Ash managed to get Buizel off of him and sit up in one swift move.

Misty, who was a little shocked at this display, wasn't really sure if she should laugh or be concerned. Her eyes were wide in a bit of shock, yet she couldn't help but start laughing a little bit as she thought about what had just happened.

"Sorry, Buizel. I sort of spaced out there a bit," Ash explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Bui bui," replied the Pokemon, sounding a bit sarcastic in his tone.

Ash glared and blushed. "H-hey!" he argued lamely.

Misty wasn't really sure what was going on, but she decided that watching Ash train his Pokemon wasn't going to do a thing to make her own Pokemon stronger.

"Ash!" Misty called, getting Ash's attention once more. When he looked at her, his blush seemed to deepen further.

"Yeah?"

"Let's battle!" she commanded, clenching her fist in front of her to show her excitement.

Ash's eyes seemed to flash with a myriad of emotions, mostly a mixture of excitement and… fear? He nodded in response, clenching his own fist and taking the same pose as Misty.

Excitement started to fill the air. After Misty put on some more appropriate battle clothes, she said to her opponent, "Three on three battle okay with you?"

"You bet!" Ash said, that initial mixture of emotions gone from him now. All that remained was the old confidence and eagerness to battle.

Ash looked towards his Pokemon who were all pumped for a battle and ready to put their training to the test. Ash surprised everyone by saying, "Chimchar, you're up first."

Misty blinked a couple times before realizing that, while he wanted to win, he also wanted his Pokemon to get plenty of training in at the same time.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you've got a disadvantage," Misty goaded, looking over at her group of Pokemon, lined up and ready to be called out. "Let's go, Corsola!"

Corsola and Chimchar bounced out onto the field, both of them pumped up and ready to battle.

Misty started the battle with, "Corsola, use Spike Cannon!"

Spikes shot off from the coral ends of the small pink Pokemon, shooting towards Chimchar.

"Dodge it!" The orange and yellow monkey jumped up into the air, narrowly avoiding getting hit with the spikes. "Now go into a Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted, and flames erupted from Chimchar's mouth, encircling him in a wheel of fire. It sped towards Corsola and hit before the coral Pokemon could dodge.

The flames dissipated and Chimchar jumped back, smirking a little. His smile faded when he saw that Corsola was standing confidently, hardly a scratch on the coral Pokemon.

"You really thought that would work, Ash? You've got a lot to learn," Misty teased, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

"Apparently you've forgotten that I like to test out my opponents, first," Ash replied ever so confidently, his hands on his hips proudly. Misty bit her lip in apprehension, an action missed by Ash.

"Corsola, BubbleBeam!" Misty commanded, her arm moving dramatically with her yelling.

Before the water attack could hit, Ash shouted, "Use Dig!" Misty gasped as Chimchar went below the ground and avoided the attack.

Misty and Corsola looked around the field, trying to determine where Chimchar was going to pop up next. "Try to listen for it!" Misty offered, trying to be helpful in a situation that was difficult to make a call for.

Out of nowhere, Chimchar popped out of the ground behind Corsola, and Ash shouted out, "Now use Fury Swipes!" Chimchar's claws moved in a blur as he ruthlessly attacked Corsola, knocking the other Pokemon across the field. "Give it a flamethrower!" A stream of fire came from the monkey's mouth and hit Corsola straight on.

_Even though Corsola is strong against fire, he can't take much more of this! _Misty worried, clenching her fists in distress.

Trying to get a break, Misty shouted, "Use BubbleBeam!" Corsola obeyed and blew a stream of bubbles towards Chimchar.

"Dig again!" Chimchar buried himself beneath the earth, and that was just what Misty had been hoping for.

"Corsola, Recover!" Misty gladly ordered, and Corsola obeyed, healing his wounds and burns after a brief pause. Ash grimaced. How could he forget that Corsola could use Recover?

Chimchar popped out of the ground again and Ash ordered, "Fury Swipes again and then use Dig!"

Corsola was hit with the Fury Swipes, but as soon as Chimchar went below the ground, Misty told her Corsola, "Use BubbleBeam in the holes!"

Ash faulted. "Chimchar, get out of there quick!"

But it was too late. Bubblebeams came shooting out of the tunnel systems that Chimchar had made, pushing the poor Pokemon out with the force of the attack. From the strong water attack, and from using all of that energy up, Chimchar fell to the ground unconscious.

"It looks like I won that round, huh?" Misty gloated, congratulating Corsola soon after.

Ash praised Chimchar and put the Pokemon back in the Pokeball as he called out his next Pokemon. "Buizel, let's go!"

Buizel was excited and gladly bound onto the field, stopping a few feet in front of Corsola.

"Start out with Aqua Jet!" Ash shouted. A ball of water surrounded Buizel and soon he was speeding through the air in a pillar of water. Before Corsola could even blink, Buizel hit the other Pokemon dead on, pushing the poor coral Pokemon in the direction of the nearby forest. "Now use SonicBoom!" It hit before Corsola could do a thing to dodge, sending him into unconsciousness.

Misty put Corsola back in his Pokeball and saying that he did a great job. Misty looked back at her Pokemon, all of them waiting patiently to be called upon. "Politoad, you're up next."

Politoad ran onto the battlefield, clapping her hands together and constantly muttering "poli, poli, poli."

Ash immediately initiated an attack, commanding Buizel to use Aqua Jet.

"Run into the forest, Politoad!" Misty shouted. Buizel missed his target and quickly turned the spray of water to lock on to Politoad again. But Politoad was already in the forest and wasn't going to come out any time soon.

Ash grimaced. _Buizel will have a tough time maneuvering his Aqua Jet in there,_ Ash thought as he ran towards the forest. "Follow Politoad!" Ash said. Ash's Pokemon quickly followed their trainer, each of them wanting to see the outcome of this match up, and every one of them wanting to battle next if Buizel didn't last.

Misty was already in the forest, quickly adapting to the new environment. Misty noticed that Buizel's speed was a lot slower as he dodged trees, trying to use his attack on the fleeing Politoad. "Stop and use Mega Punch!" she said to her partner.

Ash quickly realized that Buizel wouldn't be able to move in time to avoid the attack. "Switch to SonicBoom!" directed Ash, trying to at least soften the blow on Buizel.

An explosion occurred at the point of contact, sending both Pokemon flying back. Almost in sync with each other, they collided with a few trees, both of them getting knocked out.

Ash and Misty recalled their Pokemon. Ash looked back of the lineup of Pokemon that he had, trying to decide what one to use. Besides Totodile, all of his Pokemon were pretty good matches against Misty's water Pokemon. "Well, Pikachu, let's make it just like old times. You and me up against Misty," Ash said to the electric mouse. Pikachu nodded and ran out in front of Ash.

Misty sighed. The only Pokemon that would be of any use to her was Maril. Gyarados was too big to move well though the trees, and Psyduck was a horrible battler. Misty breathed out slowly before calling Maril out. Maybe she could use Maril's small size to her advantage and have Maril hide in the bushes… Of course, Pikachu was approximately the same size. This was going to be tough.

"Maril, use Water Gun!" Misty commanded. Maril hit Pikachu in the face, making Pikachu slightly annoyed. Before Ash could issue his instructions, Misty said to Maril, "Now go farther into the forest!"

Misty and Maril both ran to where the woods got thicker, leaving Ash to stare dumbly after her. "H-hey!" Ash exclaimed after regaining his composure. He and Pikachu darted after her, quickly catching up.

The group soon found themselves in a small clearing, brightly lit by the mid-day sun. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Pikachu's cheeks lit with stored electricity, and with a mighty shout, Pikachu's attack sped through the forest.

Fortunately for Misty, the attack went right past Maril and deeper into the forest.

Unfortunately, it hit some other Pokemon. Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Maril all froze in fear as they heard a thunderous roar through the trees.

In a squeaky whisper, Ash said to Pikachu, "I think you need to work on your aim."

Sceptile, Bulbasaur, and Psyduck came up next to their trainers just as another roar shook the trees. The group huddled close together, their distress clearly visible to any who looked at them.

Large footsteps shook the earth, and from behind the trees appeared a gigantic Ursaring. The creature's brown fur was slightly fried and its eyes were red in anger. It stood taller than any Ursaring Ash had ever seen before, easily reaching seven feet in height, maybe more. Its brown fur bristled when seeing the group, staring them down and readying it's gigantic claws.

The group seemed to take a collective step back, and once they did, the Ursaring charged at them.

They scattered, managing to confuse Ursaring for a few seconds before it decided to attack Maril. It tore its claws through the air towards Maril, but was stopped by Bulbasaur's Vine Whip tightly holding onto its arm.

With another roar, Ursaring changed targets and pulled its arm so Bulbasaur was pulled towards the giant bear. Bulbasaur smirked. The inside of the bulb on his back started to glow, and right before Ursaring could deal a blow to the grass Pokemon, Bulbasaur fired a Solar Beam at close range.

Ursaring was released from the Vine Whip as it stumbled back, growling in pain. But it would not give up. Ursaring opened its mouth wide, a small ball of energy forming in front of it. As Bulbasaur tried to regain his strength, Ursaring fired a Hyper Beam at Bulbasaur, instantly knocking him out.

Misty gasped. "Ursaring can't learn Hyper Beam in the wild!" she shouted to Ash as he called Bulbasaur into his Pokeball.

Ash glared at the gigantic Pokemon. "Maybe it was released by its trainer?" he guessed, trying to figure out what to do about this _monster_ of a Pokemon. It was insanely powerful for an Ursaring, it hardly flinched after getting hit by a Solar Beam at close range!

Ash had to do _something_. "Sceptile! Use your best Leaf Blade!" Sceptile nodded and sped towards the Ursaring, readying the sharp leaves on his arm.

Before Sceptile could reach Ursaring, though, the angry Pokemon had charged up another Hyper Beam and let it go, hitting Sceptile straight on. While Sceptile was not down for the count, it wouldn't be able to fight it off. Especially since Sceptile was so tired from earlier training. "Sceptile, stay there. You're too exhausted from before to beat him," said Ash, hoping that the lizard would listen to him.

Ash gritted his teeth, trying to contain his frustration. If Sceptile couldn't attack Ursaring (Ash knew that Bullet Seed wouldn't do much damage at the distance Sceptile would have to be at to avoid the Hyper Beam), Pikachu wouldn't fare much better. And Pikachu's body might not be able to even stand up to an onslaught like that. He couldn't risk it.

Now that Sceptile wasn't fighting, Ursaring turned his attention elsewhere, his anger still not sated. His sights landed on Misty, standing rigidly in front of Psyduck and Maril. Her breathing was loud and panicked, but she stood her ground so she could protect her Pokemon, not even thinking about putting them back in their Pokeballs.

Ursaring charged towards Misty, its claws raised high and ready to strike. Misty closed her eyes tightly, expecting to feel her skin tear to bits.

What she wasn't ready for was something to get pushed against her and into her Pokemon. They were all forced back a good distance and Misty's back slammed into a tree, causing her to groan in pain. Instantly, she knew that something was wrong. There was dead weight pressing her against the tree.

She opened her eyes and saw a mess of black hair underneath a baseball cap. Misty could hear that Ash's breathing was raspy and a bit forced. She wrapped her arms around his torso and gasped. Taking her hand away, she saw it was covered in blood, and a lot of it.

"Ash! You idiot!" Misty cried, gently moving him off of her and placing him against the tree. "Don't move!"

Ash smirked before whispering, "I don't think I could if I tried."

Misty stood and pulled out a Pokeball, the sticky blood on her hands making it slip a little in between her fingers. She threw the Pokeball as high as she could and at the peak of the throw, out came a Gyarados, easily crushing trees underneath it. While Gyarados couldn't move well on land at all, it still had plenty of power to easily take on whatever this Ursaring could dish out. At least, Misty hoped so.

"Gyarados! Use Hydro Pump!" A powerful stream of water rushed from Gyarados' mouth, and completely doused the bloodied Ursaring. Having been it with a Thunderbolt and Solar Beam before, this last powerful attack was enough to knock it into unconsciousness, letting Misty worry about one less thing. Once she saw Ursaring fall to the ground, she hurriedly told Gyarados, "I want you to get Ursaring as far away from here as you can."

Misty ran back to Ash as Gyarados merely hit Ursaring with his gigantic tail, sending the bear flying over the trees and to some unknown spot. While Misty wasn't confident that Ursaring was gone for good, she wasn't really concerned about that right now.

She knelt next to Ash, who was clutching his stomach tightly and breathing hard. Pikachu worriedly looked on, clutching to Ash's pants leg.

"Ash, let me see," Misty said as calmly as she could muster. Ash moved his bloodied arms from his wound, revealing three large gouges along his stomach. Misty winced.

"I'll be fine, we just gotta wrap it up," Ash assured.

Misty shook her head. "We have to send for help," Misty said, gesturing for the nearby Sceptile to come over to them. "Sceptile, I want you to take Pikachu to Pallet Town. Pikachu can communicate with people best, and he's light enough for you to carry, even if you're tired right now."

Sceptile nodded and gingerly picked up Pikachu, trying not to get kicked by the squirming Pokemon.

"Pikachu, the only way we can help Ash get better is if you go to Pallet Town and get help!" Misty shouted, turning back towards the injured boy.

"Why don't we use Gyarados?" Ash coughed out as Misty gently peeled Ash's shirt off of his wound.

Misty ripped the shirt and started to tear it into the longest strip she could, making it about three-fingers-width long. She called Maril over to her before answering, "Gyarados is too big to fit through the trees. Besides, he can't move on land very well, and if we put you on him, you might get even more hurt than you already are." She glanced up to Sceptile and glared, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Sceptile jumped out of shock, before speeding off through the forest in the direction of Pallet Town, quickly disappearing through the trees.

"Maril, use a soft Water Gun to clean the wound, then use Refresh to see if that helps any," Misty explained, quickly finishing up with making her bandages. They were bloody already, but they would have to do for now.

Maril used her Water Gun on Ash's injury, wiping away most of the blood. Then, as Misty instructed, Maril's body started to glow as it used Refresh. Maril touched the wound with her paw, seemingly slowing the blood that flowed from the newly cleaned gashes.

With shaky hands, Misty started to wrap Ash's torn shirt around his stomach, ignoring how Ash would flinch whenever she accidentally brushed up against the wounds.

Once this was done, Misty asked, "Can you stand?"

Ash nodded slowly, as if he wasn't sure if this was the correct answer. Misty grabbed his arm as he started to stand on unsteady legs, almost falling back down once or twice. Once he managed to stand, Misty took his left arm and put it over her shoulder.

"Misty, I can—"

"No, you can't," Misty interrupted. Before she started to lead them out of the forest, she called back Gyarados, thanking him for his job well done. Psyduck and Maril followed close behind her, Maril trying her best to help Ash whenever he stumbled a little.

Thankfully, the mountain path that led up to camp was nearby, and they could easily make their way back and properly treat Ash's wounds, and get the tired Pokemon taken care of as well.

- - -

Sceptile was thoroughly drained by the time he reached the edge of Pallet Town. While the decent of the mountain helped with their journey back, Sceptile had gone as fast as he could, and with little energy to begin with.

Pikachu jumped out of Sceptile's arms, telling the other Pokemon to rest for a while as Pikachu ran towards Ash's house. Sceptile didn't need to be told twice. The large lizard sat on the ground, chewing the twig in his mouth carefully.

Pikachu scurried through the door of the Ketchum house, which was open to let some fresh air circulate throughout the home. The mouse Pokemon ran past the living room and bounded over to the bathroom, where all the medical supplies were kept. Once he made his way to the bathroom, Pikachu hopped to the countertop, knowing it would be easier to get what he wanted from there.

Barely avoiding tripping into the sink, Pikachu knelt over the edge of the counter flat on his belly. The drawer right below him held all the first-aid supplies, but Pikachu's real challenge was opening it. He extended his arm towards the small knob below him, falling short just barely. Pikachu shuffled a little closer towards the knob and grasped the knob between his tiny paws. The tiny mouse pulled the drawer out a few centimeters; it was barely enough to fit his leg inside, but it was enough.

Pikachu changed positions, scooting back on his stomach so he could open the drawer from the top lip by pushing out. Once he opened it far enough, he jumped inside the drawer and wedged himself between the front of the drawer and the edge of the counter top. With a mighty heave, Pikachu straightened his body, pushing the drawer out of its socket and on to the ground. The drawer's contents flew across the floor and Pikachu fell on what was left inside of it.

After regaining his breath, Pikachu sat up and started to look through the items around him, but quickly found that he had no idea of what he was looking for. So engrossed in the search was he that the little mouse failed to notice the heavy footsteps coming nearer and screeching to a halt outside the door. "Pikachu?" asked a familiar voice.

Pikachu turned. "Pika-Chu!" he shouted, shocked. In front of him stood a squinty-eyed young man, wearing a pink apron and holding a saucepan of some bright red salsa.

"Are Ash and Misty back? And what are you doing?" Brock asked, amused by the electric mouse's antics.

Pikachu jumped out of the drawer and started to frantically shout out, "Pika pikachu pikapika Pikapi!" At the last word, Pikachu made a face that resembled Ash somewhat, hoping that Brock would get the hint.

Brock looked worried. While he wasn't nearly as good as Ash was in translating Pikachu's words, he had caught quite a bit of what the mouse had said. "What happened to Ash?î the dark-skinned man asked, crouching to Pikachu's eye level and setting the saucepan he held on the ground.

Pikachu ran to the saucepan and stuck a paw in the salsa. Almost harshly, Pikachu splattered as much of the food on his yellow stomach, and mimicked Ash getting knocked to the ground.

A gasp escaped Brock's lips. "Is Ash hurt?" Pikachu nodded furiously from his spot on the ground.

If Brock's eyes would open, they would be as big as plates. He rushed from the room, seemingly getting supplies, and shouted back to Pikachu, "Wait outside for me! I have to get some stuff!"

Pikachu ran towards where Sceptile waited patiently, leaving a light trail of salsa behind him. Pikachu didn't have much time to sit and relax before Brock ran from the house, his backpack slightly larger than usual. The aspiring breeder pulled out a Pokeball from his belt and threw it high into the air. As the ball reached its peak, it opened. In a beam of red light, a gigantic Steelix stood in front of them, its metallic skin shining in the sunlight.

Brock ran towards Steelix, climbing up on the huge Pokemon's back and holding on tight. "Pikachu, I need you to sit on Steelix's head and direct him. Sceptile, you can sit back here with me. You look pretty tired."

Neither Pokemon dared disobey Brock, especially since their trainer was in danger. As soon as everyone was in their respective position, Brock gave the signal for Steelix to move.

The ride was somewhat bumpy, and as they entered the forest, Steelix hardly seemed to notice the trees that he broke or bent.

It seemed like a long wait for them to reach the steeper, rocky part of the trail; it was only about an hour more than the time it took Sceptile to get back to Pallet Town. When they reached the rocky part of the mountain, they were forced to get off of Steelix. If the giant Pokemon had attempted to climb up any farther there would most definitely be rockslides.

Sceptile and Pikachu led the rest of the way, Brock slowly, but determinedly, following.

Brock heard Pikachu call out "Pikapi" before the mouse bounded around the corner of some rocks and out of the breeder's view. Sceptile followed close behind the mouse, running towards an unseen goal.

As soon as Brock made his way around the corner, he stood in awe at the scenery around him. But he couldn't appreciate it for long, as he was pulled out of his revere by a female voice calling, "Brock!"

He turned and saw Misty, distraught and bloody, fretting over Ash. A morbid thought of how the blood matched her hair flashed through his mind before he looked away from her. Brock's eyes wandered to the makeshift bandages around Ash's stomach, wincing at how much blood there seemed to be soaking through.

The young breeder worked quickly, pulling out fresh bandages and taking the old ones off. Ash hissed as Brock put some disinfectant on the wound. Brock carefully wrapped Ash's stomach as Misty served as a support for the young trainer to sit up.

Once he was finished dressing the wounds, Brock turned to Misty. She was kneeling down, her knees acting as a pillow for Ash's head.

"What happened?" Brock asked, his voice careful and compassionate.

With those simple words, Misty started to tear up. She forced her eyes shut and hiccupped slightly, her fists clenching at her sides.

Slowly opening her eyes, Misty said with a wavering voice, "We were attacked by an Ursaring."

Shock and disbelief flashed in Brockís eyes. He watched Misty as she tried to regain control over her emotions, waiting for her to continue with her story.

"Ash and I were having a battle and we ran into the forest. Pikachu used a Thundershock and it missed my Pokemon, but it hit the Ursaring… We tried to fight it off, but it was really powerful. It was the biggest Ursaring I've ever seen! And then… Ash took a blow for that was meant for me," Misty explained guiltily.

"Stop blaming yourself!" Ash shouted. He immediately regretted it, groaning in pain from moving too much.

"You need to rest," Brock offered. Ash gave the breeder a glare, his expression saying 'why didn't you tell me that before?'

Brock sighed and stood up, grimacing at the blood that stained his hands. "We're going to have to wait a while until we can get back to town. If we move you too soon, we could reopen that wound and make it worse than it already is. If the wound had been any deeper, we'd be leaving right now," he explained as he wiped his hands off on a nearby rag.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Misty asked.

"If we're lucky, we might be able to go tomorrow, if we go slow. Otherwise, we might have to go a couple days from now," Brock replied. "Misty, will you help me with dinner? I think Ash might need some rest right now." Misty nodded and reluctantly moved Ash's head from her lap. Ash looked disappointed, but said nothing as she and Brock left to work on the food.

Ash let out a long breath, trying to keep his breathing even over the pain he felt. Misty came back after what seemed to be an eternity, carrying two bowls of Brock's famous soup. She sat the bowls next to him before helping him sit up so he could eat.

The two ate in silence. Ash was too concentrated on eating to have a conversation, and Misty had no idea how to break the awkward stillness that surrounded them.

As soon as Ash was done with his meal, he set down his bowl and laid down, falling asleep quickly. Brock and Misty took care of cleaning up, and decided to go to bed early.

Night enveloped the camp and Misty was awake for most of the night, listening to make sure that Ash was all right.

* * *

**Author's Note:** A very good review (once again by **Milotic**) made me decide that I needed to explain something about Misty. While it's true that Misty mellowed out a good deal while traveling with Ash, much of that can be attributed to Togepi, and after Togepi left, Azuril took that spot. Since she no longer has any "baby" Pokemon to mother, I would think that her personality would become a bit more erratic. She's still a lot mellower in my story than she was in the beginning of the series, but I think that a lot of Ash and Misty's chemistry comes from their fighting. So if you were wondering as to why she was meaner now, that's the explination.

And I'd like to thank Milotic, since (he? she?) has been very supportive and has offered very good constructive criticism. You don't know how much that helps me! ;)

Also, there is a bit of a continuity error on my part earlier (that's the problem of not planning out ahead of time) Gyarados is easily able to keep up with everyone before, where he can't now. We'll attribute that to Gyarados moving (slithering?) on the plains instead of between the trees. And Gyarados isn't that great at moving on land anyway.

Sorry for not updating in, what, three months? Real life came.


End file.
